


Spread your Wings and fly away Freely—

by Chibi_Twan



Series: The Power of Three (One Piece Time Travel SSL) [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brief suicidal thoughts, Brotherly Affection, Gen, Major Character Undeath, Major character death - Freeform, POV Sabo (One Piece), Protective Sabo (One Piece), Sabo may not be thinking clearly, Sabo needs a hug, Sabo-centric (One Piece), Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:01:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29630868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibi_Twan/pseuds/Chibi_Twan
Summary: The end doesn't come for him like he thought it would, instead, Sabo wakes years in the past with his memories perfectly in tact only– he remembers more than his childhood. He remembers everything that has yet to happen... A ending that he refuses to let happen again.
Relationships: Koala & Sabo (One Piece), Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, Sabo & Whitebeard Pirates (One Piece)
Series: The Power of Three (One Piece Time Travel SSL) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2163822
Comments: 7
Kudos: 22





	Spread your Wings and fly away Freely—

**Author's Note:**

> This is a warning ahead of time, the first few paragraphs depict semi-graphic character death.

He didn’t make it in time. 

By the time he caught up to everyone, the battle was already over. Bodies covering nearly every inch of the Battlefield, the vast majority of them unrecognizable. A few that seemed familiar to him, the Heart Pirates symbols standing out to him, but he did not know any of them by name. He didn’t see their captain anywhere. The first person he saw that he recognized, Sabo, wished he hadn't. It was the orange-haired girl from Luffy’s crew, Nami. Chunks of her hair were missing; it looked as though someone had torn clumps of it off her head. Blood still rising to the surface and falling from her scalp. Despite how bad she looked, her arm bent at an unnatural angle, claw marks tearing through her side, he knew it wasn’t Any of those injuries or the taxing toll of all of them that killed her. Obviously, the killing blow came from the large stake sticking out through her chest right where her heart was located. His hands shook as he leaned down and closed her eyes, silently apologizing for coming too late before he moved on. He didn't want to leave her there. He knew that Luffy wouldn't want him to leave her there either. Only… he knew that Big Mom and Kaido were still around, that the World Government had soldiers on the way. He couldn’t afford to waste any time. He needed to find the others.

for some reason, it never occurred to him even after he found Nami’s body, and then Franky’s, then Chopper, and Usopp-

it never occurred to him that there wouldn't be any survivors.

It never occurred to him that there was a chance he lost Luffy.

But he did. One by one, he found each of the StrawHats, any leftover warmth flowing through their veins long gone. Luffy-Out of all of them, his baby brother looked the worst. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Luffy fought until the very end, doing everything within his power to protect his precious people. When he first saw Luffy lying there, his legs gave out. Collapsing by his brothers’ side as a horrified scream bubbled up in his throat. Never before had he seen Luffy so severely injured. He knew before he even had the chance to check for a pulse that he was too late. There was no way anyone could survive an injury like this. There was no way to describe it; it looked as though someone had taken claws, dug them into his baby brother's chest, and tore him open. Sabo gagged, realizing that the odd color he saw beneath his brother's blood was actually parts of his rib cage sticking out. Pressing his hands down over his mouth, he couldn’t keep the whimpers or his cries from slipping out past his lips. There was nothing he could say, nothing he could do other than chanting his brother's name.

He wasn’t fast enough. 

He promised-he promised Ace he would keep their baby brother safe, and he—

He failed. Luffy was dead, and he-he was all alone. 

He didn’t protect him. He was the older brother. He swore on Ace’s grave that he would– but he wasn’t fast enough. He wasn’t strong enough. Running into some low-level marine kept him from getting here in time. Hell, there wasn’t even a captain amongst them. Just back-up soldiers that Sabo ran into by accident. He could have beat them all one-two-three; instead, he took his time. He took his time and was joking around all the while-- Everyone died… and it was all his fault.

How ironic. Sabo was the first to "die," and here he was, the last of them left alive.

Sabo bent over, his forehead pressed against Luffy’s still chest and choking on his sobs as he felt his brother’s drying blood move against his skin. 

He wasn't sure how long he stayed there in that position. It could have been seconds, minutes, hours. He couldn’t tell.

Regardless of how long he stayed, they're surrounded by Corpses of those he cares about, an overwhelming amount of guilt weighing down on him; it was long enough for those sent by the World Government to arrive. Sabo couldn’t bring himself to move, not even after realizing who was there. The only reason why he bothered setting up was because all of the soldiers started screaming at him, their voices laying over one another and quickly giving him a headache. The soldiers were quick to move. They surrounded him on all sides, each of them with their guns out, and pointed right at him. He slowly sat up as they began to count, warning him that if he didn’t get up by the time they got to three, they would start firing and wouldn’t stop until he was dead. Sabo didn’t bat an eye. Staring down the barrel of a gun blankly, one hand stayed down by his side, clenching the fabric of Luffy’s sleeve. He couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. Here he was, kneeling next to his brother's corpse, having quite literally lost everything that ever mattered to him, and these soldiers thought that shooting him was some sort of punishment?

Why was it that against all odds, in the end, out of the three of them, he was the one left alive?

He didn't sit up because he didn't want them to shoot him; Sabo sat up because he didn't want his brother’s already mangled corpse to get filled with lead.

Everyone was right. The world had it out for people like him. For people like Ace, like Luffy. For people who just wanted to live in a world where they were free, the world turned against them. All of them. He couldn't focus on what was happening around him. One of the soldiers marched up to him, holding out Sea Stone cuffs. No. No. He couldn't just give up. No matter how badly he wanted to, no matter how something it was just to lay down and die—he couldn't do that.

He owed it to Luffy and Ace. He owed it to them to keep fighting.

For the rest of the StrawHat crew, the Heart Pirates, Traf–Law. He said to call him Law. His brothers’ allies. He owed it to all of them to get up, to get up and keep on fighting. It didn't matter that he was outnumbered. It didn't matter that he could barely find the strength to get back up. None of that mattered; all that mattered was that he was not going down without a fight.

* * *

When Sabo woke up, he couldn't recognize his surroundings. Not at first. He was still lost in his memories. Lost in his grief. He couldn't have one; there was no way he won that fight. Did he pass out at some point? Did the Marines take him as a prisoner rather than outright killing him? He's kept his position as the Chief of Staff for the Revolutionary Army a secret... Was there a chance that they figured out who he was? Were they planning on keeping him alive long enough to torture him? To try and get information out of him? He wouldn't tell them, not a damn thing. Not, after all, they took from him, and not even before then. His entire body trembled, and yet for some reason, he didn't feel as weak as before. He slowly sat up in the bed, shocked to see that there were no handcuffs or shackles on either of his limbs. He slowly pulled back the covers and swung his legs off over the side of the bed.

It wasn't until he sat up and had a chance to thoroughly look around the room that he realized where he was.

This was his room. It was his bedroom from back at one of the Revolution Army bases.

He wouldn't recognize this one if not for Ace and Luffy’s wanted posters on his wall. There was a small Goa kingdom map next to it. He remembers when he put those up on the wall. Usually, his assigned rooms at every base whereas bare as possible since he never really knew what to hang up. He didn't remember his past, so he never really knew how to make his bedroom seem more… welcoming. Homey. Shortly after the events at Dressrosa, he came back to this base out in the New World because Dragon asked him to help train new recruits. It was to act as an opportunity to ensure that the new recruits were up to par and for him to have a chance to learn how to control the Mera Mera no mi. Once he got here, he pulled out a pile of wanted posters. He started off by hanging up the oldest and going in order as the bounties got higher. There was a chance he might be missing a few, but he set out to gain a copy of every wanted poster each of his brothers ever had. But this is impossible… how could he be here when he was at Wano? He never told anyone where he was going…

Knocking on his bedroom door startled him badly enough that he ended up falling off the bed. Banging his head against the end table just as his door was flung open.

"Sabo-Kun!"

His head snapped up, watching and shock as Koala of all people came rushing toward him. Her face was all scrunched up, and he immediately noticed the red rim around her eyes… she'd been crying… He was too startled; he didn't know what to say, so he stayed quiet as she helped him back up onto the bed.

"You're finally awake then, huh? Do you know how worried you had me? How worried you had everyone!" Koala gritted her teeth, "If you were sick, then why the hell didn't you say anything! Are you stupid enough that you thought that training with that high of fever was smart?"

"W-What?" Sabo croaked, his voice dying out as his throat protested him speaking.

"You're still not better? Okay, okay, just stay in bed and let me get you something to drink real quick."

She took off out the door before he could even say a word.

The wanted posters were gone, and so was the map of his home. Frowning, Sabo carefully looked around the room once more. He wasn't entirely sure what it was he was looking for, but seeing a newspaper lying on top of the end table was both helpful and utterly confusing, especially once he noticed what the date was. It–It must've been an old paper, left out by mistake.

Once Koala came back to the room, he accepted the glass of water with a nod but made no move as to drink it.

Koala noticed this and glared at him, "You're not going to get better if you–"

"–What's today's date?" Sabo cut her off.

"What?"

"Today's date! What is it?!"

Koala quickly muttered a date, the exact same date written out in the newspaper. That wasn't right. That couldn't be today's date. If it was then— then nothing he knows has actually happened.

Not that battle, not finding Luffy, eating Ace's fruit, regaining his memories or-or the war. Sabo's eyes widened. Ace was still alive then. Same with Luffy. Both his brothers were okay!

"–bo-Kun! If you don't answer me, I'm going to drag you back to the med-bay!"

Sabo reeled back, his eyes meeting his dear friend's, and for a split second, he felt guilty about how concerned she seemed over his well-being. If she was this worried about him being a little out of it, he couldn't help but wonder how his Koala from his time must be taking his disappearance. If he was here then… then he died– didn't he?

"Sabo-Kun!"

"Sorry," Sabo grinned reflexively, "I was just… thinking."

"About what?"

"My brothers."

Koala froze, her jaw-dropping as she gaped at Sabo, "Y-You got your memories back?"

"I-," Sabo coughed, frowning but willingly drinking the water as Koala pushed his hands up to bring it closer to his mouth, "Thank you. Yeah, I-I do! I have two stubborn idiots for brothers and I— I need to see them."

Sabo all but long the glass of water at the end table, spilling some of it out on top of the newspaper as he scrambled to get out of the bed. The only reason why he wasn't already out of the bed and running out the door was that Koala had practically leaped at him, pinning him down to the mattress.

"You idiot! What do you think you're doing? You've been unconscious for 3 days now! You know that I'm happy for you, I'm so so glad that you remembered something from your past but you're not going anywhere!"

Three days… a high fever and he's been unconscious for three days… didn't this happen when he regained his memories?

"You're sure that's today's date?"

"Of course I'm sure! Don't try changing the subject, you're staying here and resting!"

"What? Nono– I need to go find them! They think I'm dead! I-I need to see them!"

"No!" Koala quickly hit him over the head, hard enough that Sabo stopped struggling to press down on the bump he could already feel forming, "I— Sabo-Kun, you can see them later, or we can find a way to use a Den Den Mushi to call them but you need to rest and get better first. You were really sick, you know… no one knew what happened when you collapsed during training."

"I…" Sabo sighed, "I'm sorry I worried all of you… but this is very important to me. Please, don't make me have to run away. You know I'll leave with or without permission."

The room descended into silence, neither of them said a word. Sado felt his eyes grow wide in alarm and Koala's filled with a light sheen, no tears spilled over. He's not entirely sure what to do when koala suddenly pulls him into a tight hug before leaning back and punching him in the shoulder. At least the punch was lighter than usual.

"You can go," Koala whispered, "none of us have any major assignments at the moment, and I know you've never taken any time off. Just– spend tonight here. Resting. I'll talk to Dragon for you and if you are feeling better by tomorrow then we can leave."

"We?"

"As I said, none of us have any missions at the moment. So, Hack and I will come with you."

Hack. Oh god, he hasn't seen him ever since the fight in the colosseum back at Dressrosa. He knew that the fish-man would occasionally get upset with how he treated his missions but he was one of the closest friends Sabo had. Ever since Hack became a martial arts teacher for the Revolutionary Army, and realized that despite being amnesic Sabo definitely knew how to fight, the two of them got along as though they've known each other for years. Koala and Hack were his best friends… where they always close with one another? He can't remember how their relationship was at this point in time, was he going to have to rebuild his friendships?

As much as the idea terrified him, he couldn't help but feel as though it would be worth it.

If this all wasn't a dream and it was actually happening, then he could change the future.

He could save everyone, he can stop the battle with Kaido and Big Mom from ever happening. He could stop other battles before they even began, he could protect his friends. His family.

He has a second chance. There's no way in hell he was going to but it slept through his fingers. He'll leave as soon as koala leaves the room, though knowing her there was a chance she would fall asleep in the chair by his bed. Either way, once the moment arises, he'll leave before anyone can stop him.

He didn't want to have anyone with him when he found Ace.

Just imagining seeing his brother again has his throat closing up and tears building in his eyes. He couldn't just lay there and wait for permission. He needed to find Ace. He needed to find out what events happened and what was going to happen. He needed to keep his precious ones safe. He couldn't do any of that stuck in his bedroom like some grounded child. 

The conversation quickly died out and Sabo couldn't bring himself to try and fill the silence.

With nothing to do other than wait, he laid down and closed his eyes. He didn't go to sleep, he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. Instead, he lay there with his eyes closed and forced his body to relax. Koala knew him well, or she will know him well– either way, he was 99% certain that if he didn't try his absolute best to relax then there was no way she would believe he was asleep. And then the longer he stayed awake (meaning as long as Koala believed he was awake) meant the longer he would have to wait until he could leave. All he had to do was relax, there were no pressing matters that needed his attention at the moment. Taking some time before leaving would work out in his favor. He could start planning now.

First and foremost, finding Ace. 

Even before he regained his memories in the original timeline, he kept track of the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard was a contender that Dragon had been debating on trying to become allies with for years now. It was why he knew that the Whitebeard Pirates were definitely in the New World by now. So this definitely worked out in his favor, he was already in the New World, so all he had to do was figure out where exactly they were and meet up with them… easy. It’s not like it was hard keeping track of a pirate crew that large. Plus, Ace was technically still a “rookie” that the marines were intent on keeping an eye on. That he wasn’t as keen about but getting intel from the marines was never an issue for him, even during missions when he wasn’t in contact with the other revolutionaries. The second half of the grand line was not a new experience for him, he’s been here multiple times in the past.

If he was remembering correctly, Smoker mentioned that there was an island just past Fish-Man Island that the Whitebeard Pirates were In the process of claiming as a part of their territory.

Someplace called The Mystoria Island, personally, he’s never been there. He’s gone to Fish-Man Island before, years ago before he was fully a teenager had been the first time he’d gone. It was one of the times Dragon forced him to leave the base, attempting to drag him out of one of his many funks he fell into while he was in the process of healing from getting his boat blown up by a Celestial Dragon. It was also how he met Hack and helped convince the fish-man to join their cause. Of course, he has stopped by there a few times over the past few years but he’s never stayed for long. He's never gone to Mystoria Island before, having always sailed past it in his attempts to return to this base as quickly as possible.

Logically that would be the first and the best place for him to check.

However, he would need to find a boat and backtrack without leaving a trail for Koala or Hack to follow. Because knowing those two they would definitely give chase once they realized he was missing.

Okay so, he’ll need to back some clothes, and take out some of his savings. It would be for the best if he carried money with him. He’ll need to pack some food and drinks, find a boat, maps, a log pose would definitely help… He could do this. How hard could it be?

As it turns out, it could be very hard.

Somehow sneaking past an entire base filled with revolutionaries wasn't the hardest part, neither was packing up a duffel bag while Koala slept a few feet away in the chair by his bed. No. The hardest part was himself. Koala told him he’s been sick, that he was asleep for the past three days… And yet he completely forgot about it in the few hours he's been awake. At first, he didn’t realize anything was amiss, he felt fine and he managed to get done everything that needed to be done. He even made it off the island in a decently sized boat that a fisherman wouldn’t stop to miss after finding the pile of Berri’s that he left behind.

He only noticed that something was wrong once the adrenaline rush faded.

It was as though all of his energy seeped out of him, he couldn’t stop his legs from giving out under him. The good news was he was already inside the cabin and the small wooden table and chairs provided enough support that he didn't crash to the floor. The bad news was his entire body was trembling badly enough that he couldn’t hold still long enough to get his limbs to listen to him. That and despite how cold he felt, he was also sweating. A lot. Gritting his teeth, Sabo slowly slid down to the floor, just barely keeping from hitting his head on the table. A voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Koala was berating him on how foolish he was behaving. Maybe he should have waited to bring the others with him. At least if he did that then he wouldn't have to worry about sailing and keeping track of where they were going while his body was practically pleading with him to go pass out.

He compromised with himself, mentally assuring himself that he could rest after he arrived at Mystoria Island. 

Knowing his luck if he passed out while at sea, he'd get eaten by a Sea King or swallowed up by a whirlpool… nah. That sounded more like something that would happen to Luffy or Ace. His luck was more along the lines of Marines finding him or somehow getting sicker and dying in his sleep. Morbid but it was definitely something that he could see happening.

He wound up having to sit on the floor in the near middle of the cabin for a couple of hours. He really needed to get out on deck and make sure that he was still going in the right direction, but he still didn't have enough energy to stand. Thankfully his limbs stopped trembling. The near constant shaking was making it harder for him to calm down. His heart just about beat out of his chest when he realized he couldn't move.

He doesn't remember ever being sick like this before. Did he not remember because he was sick like this?

He was usually not one to regret his life decisions—okay that was a lie, but this isn't like other things he did regret. Choosing to go off on his own wasn't anything new, he usually didn't regret it. At the moment he was somewhat regretting going off without looking into what was going on currently in this timeline. It would have been smart of him to ask more about him apparently being sick too. Oh well, it's already been a while since he left. It would just be pointless to turn around now.

It took another hour before he could gather enough energy to get back on his feet.

As much as he wanted to check where he was at now, he knew that the best thing he could do right now was go lay down. Hopefully when he wakes up he'll feel better.

If he was being honest of all the things he expected to happen when he woke up, it was not this.

He was expecting either to wake up normally, have a Sea King bump into the side of the ship, or to have by some miracle made it all the way to the island with no mishaps. Some part of him feared that he would wake up surrounded by Marines in the middle of that battlefield. That he opened his eyes and realized that he never actually went back in time. That he suffered a mind lapse of some sort and just imagined all of this. He never expected to wake up to a stranger standing over him in the cabin.

"Wh-?"

The stranger's eyes widen in alarm and Sabo can't do anything to stop him as the stranger quickly closes handcuffs around his wrists, and turns away, "Damn it, he's awake! Tell Mark to hurry up!"

Oh god, resting did not help. It did not help at all, not even to restore any energy lost earlier.

No matter how hard he struggled, Sabo couldn't even gather enough energy to shift back on his bed. The stranger yanked on the handcuffs forcing his arms out to the side where he hung precariously halfway off the side of the bed thanks to the sudden movement. Another guy, Mark he assumed, came rushing into the room. Mark didn't spare the other guy a glance before rushing towards Sabo and jamming a needle into his arm. The effect was immediate, even as low on energy as he was, Sabo felt what had to be a sedative take over him. It didn't knock him unconscious like he feared it would, instead it erased any remaining energy he had. He couldn't feel his body, everything just felt-numb. Shit. Shit, this isn't good. He has no idea who the hell these guys are. And whoever they are, they were definitely used to apparently drugging random people. They worked well together, even as it took the both of them to lift him off the bed and slowly shuffle out onto the deck. He may not be able to turn his head or anything but he could still look around. There was a large ship anchored right next to his, and from where he was at he could see a handful of people moving around up on the deck. From how the two guys were holding him he couldn't tell if they were near an island or not, all he could see was his immediate surroundings and glance up at the other ship.

"Damn, he's a bit heavier than I thought he would be."

"Doesn't matter, if the boss thinks he needs to lose weight then we can just cut down his portions."

Shit. SHIT. Who the hell were these guys and where are they taking him? He needs to get to Ace! He can't let these guys get in his way… if he can find Ace then he can keep him safe. He can keep the Paramount war from ever happening. He can stop their Baltigo headquarters from being destroyed. He could protect Kuma… He can protect his brother's precious Namakma. All of this–all of the suffering these past few years, all of it was because of that bastard, Teach! If he stops him from getting the Yami Yami no Mi then he can stop so many events from happening.

Or he could if he could move.

Whatever those idiots gave him, it was strong enough that he couldn't just will power past it. It didn't help that he was already so weak before they woke him either.

He couldn't do anything but lay there as They carried him on to the second ship, and wasted no time in taking him below deck. Whoever these guys were, they were smart about kidnapping him. There were no sources of light below deck either, he couldn't tell where anything was at or if he was alone down there. These guys seem to know how to move around in the dark though. They carried him for a couple more minutes before reaching a cell, it was so small that when they shoved him into it he had no choice but to stand. The bars on either side of him were so close that they kept him in the upright position, he couldn't even move his arms. It felt less like being in a cell and more like standing in a coffin. Damn, there is not even enough room for him to use his Dragon claw fist and break his way out.

The only good thing that seemed to come out of this situation was that it was enough of a distraction to keep him from focusing on the way his body was aching and how his memories were acting as an assault on his mind. Even forcing his eyes to stay open could not keep him from still seeing his baby brother's corpse lying before him… 

Sabo shook his head, gritting his teeth as he glared at the two men.

"Aw, would you look at that. The thing's got some spirit in it after all!"

He had to bite down on his lip to keep what he knew would be hysterical laughter from making its way past his lips. This cage looks on these men's faces… it all reminded him far too much of all those years ago when he had argued with his father and been locked in his bedroom with bars over the windows. It hadn't even been the first time his father did something like that to him. Even before he ran away the first time and met Ace in gray terminal–his bastard of a father always tried to control him.

When he wasn't locked up in his bedroom, he was sitting down in the cage located within the family's cellar. 

He had never been free there, it was only after meeting Ace and later on Luffy that he truly began to experience freedom. Did he really think that allowing himself to be taken back home would benefit them all? Sabo couldn't help but chuckle bitterly, he was such an idiot of a kid. He should have known his father would not keep his word… here he was all over again losing his freedom because he couldn't stop to think for a moment and actually plan ahead. Koala and Hack would have watched over him while he slept. They would have made sure no one's knock on board or managed to drug him.

"What? That's it? You're not even going to try asking us what we're going to do to you? No attempts at even getting us to try and save any of your stuff?"

The first guy, the one he woke up and saw leaning over him snorted, "it doesn't matter. We got the kid in the cell, Gavin's taking care of his ship. Now let's get the hell out of here before any other ships come by."

With the two of them gone, there was nothing left to focus on. Nothing left to distract him.

"Ne, Sabo!"

"Sabo! Oi!"

He flinched. It didn't matter if he knew they were both alive at the moment, it didn't matter because he had still seen the both of them dead. Ace had looked peaceful, even with that hole burned through his chest and back, he had that smile on his face. Luffy on the other hand, even in death he couldn't find release from the pain he had to have been in. What part of his baby brother's face he could see, the parts that hadn't been burned to charcoal, were twisted and contorted into some sort of pain-filled grimace. It was a look he had never seen Luffy make. Everybody he came across, whether it was allies or the enemy, no one looked peaceful. Everyone looked as though they were suffering. Especially the rest of the StrawHats. Much like with the heart pirates, Sabo assumed the rest of his brothers crew had perished as well. He did not find everyone before he came across Luffy–even then, after seeing his brother's body lying there like that, he wouldn't have had the strength to go searching for anyone else.

In truth, he wanted to lie down next to Luffy.

He wanted to somehow convince his brother, even though he knew he was long gone, that he was there now. With how much distance there was between Luffy and the others on the battlefield… Luffy had died alone.

His baby brother, who swore up and down that being alone was worse than being hurt, had died with no one there by his side.

* * *

At some point he stopped paying attention to what went on around him. He was well aware of his surroundings, he saw the way his limbs continued to tremble, his legs struggling to keep holding him up but having no room for him to slide down and rest on the ground. He was aware of the noises around him, the waves crashing against the side of the ship, those up on Deck laughing and chatting with one another. He was aware of his surroundings and yet it was as though he wasn't. He felt more like a ghost watching the proceedings of everything while his body just stayed there in stasis. 

It felt like his body wasn't truly his, like he was an outsider despite knowing that he was the one in the cell.

It wasn't until all the noises that the people on this ship were making began to die off as it grew later into the Night that he heard the sound of someone crying. Sabo blinked, not entirely sure he heard correctly but not wanting to brush it off either.

So far, he knows that there is the first guy who woke him up, Mark, Gavin, and he saw about three others up on deck before they brought him down to the cell… it was too dark for him to be able to make out if there was anyone else locked up down here. However, it was highly unlikely that the crying would be coming from any of the crew.

"H–" Sabo broke off, clearing his throat, "Hello? Is someone else down here?"

A whimper. Something scraping against the floorboards of the ship.

Sabo hesitated, "... Are you alright?"

"None of us are alright."

Sabo jumped, the voice coming from the opposite direction then he expected it to.

"What?"

"You got yourself caught by a slave ship, son… like I said. None of us are alright. Tamil's probably having another nightmare…"

"I see…" Sabo frowned, he had a pretty good idea even before they brought him onto the ship that they were slave traders, though he had hoped he was wrong, "How many of you are down here? How long have you been on this ship?"

"... I believe there's ten of us. Zon and Deke are the only two that stopped responding when we did roll call. We've been on the ship for a couple of days now, the last auction didn't have as big of a turnout as they wanted."

Humming lightly, Sabo closed his eyes. He didn't want to jump to conclusions… but if the crew on this ship were treating everyone how slave traders usually treated their merchandise then it's likely that Don and Deke had either been injured and neglected by the crew or weren't given the proper substances to keep them alive. Considering that he could only smell piss and what had to have been someone throwing up, if those two really were dead then they haven't been dead for long. Dead bodies would be giving off enough of a pungent smell that it would have been obvious someone had died. Until they get some sort of light source, it's not like he can look around and see everything that's down there with him.

While he did have a pretty good hold on his Observational Haki, he's been using subconsciously ever since he woke up on base.

Trying to concentrate while using it right now would just be useless. He was too exhausted and the drugs still circling their way through his system were messing with him. He'll have to settle for doing everything the old fashioned way. 

Damnit. While he was glad for the chance to come across this slave ship (more like they came across him) and help these people, he was also pissed that it was cutting in on his time he could be using to find his brother… sighing, Sabo let his head fall back. He couldn't be selfish here. It doesn't matter how badly he wanted to see Ace, all of these people probably had families or friends that they've been wishing they could see at least once more. They were the ones who had their freedom taken from them. This was one of the reasons why he works so hard as a part of the Revolutionary Army. To change the way the world works, to give everybody the opportunity–to let them all have their rights to their freedom.

Everybody deserves to be free.

Gritting his teeth, Sabo kept his eyes shut and concentrated on getting his body to respond to his commands. He had no way of knowing how long the drugs would work for but until he knew they were fully out of his system he could at least work on trying to get his fingers to move. Start small then work his way up. He couldn't afford to be impatient here, he needs to think carefully on what to do from this point on. Assuming he can't count on the ten others locked down here with him, two of which he has to assume are out of commission, he needs to figure out a way to get free and make his way up on Deck to deal with the crew. Easy.

* * *

Okay so it was more like, easier said than done, but in the end it didn't take him more than a couple of hours to regain feeling. The entire time he couldn't help but be overly aware of the person-Tamil crying, trying and failing to muffle the sounds. Occasionally he could hear the other shifting around and sometimes whispering to each other but other than that it was quiet. He could barely even hear the sounds of the sea, he had to assume that the crew were all sleeping other than whoever was on watch. This is how his days went as weeks passed. The same routine day in and day out.

He planned to escape with the other prisoners that first night. However, things didn't go according to plan.

Somehow, for some reason–the crew realized he was not someone to underestimate. He couldn't remember if the world knew he was the Chief of Staff for the Revolutionary Army at this point in time or not… he was almost positive that it wasn't revealed to the world just yet.

Regardless, to ensure his good behavior the crew would take turns coming down and dragging the other slaves out of their cells. The first time they did this, Sabo learned that the two that were silent on his first night, Deke and Zon, were definitely dead. They must have recently passed, and no one seemed too concerned about them having died. Instead their corpses were carted upstairs and tossed over the side of the ship, left to rot in the sea. Everytime the others were taken from their cells, Sabo was forced to watch as they were beaten. The first time he called out and tried to make the crew stop was also the last time he actively intervened. Speaking out only made matters worse. For some reason, they were given special orders from their captain not to injure him too badly and to avoid leaving bruises where they could be easily seen.

Jarvin, the supposed captain of this ship, made it a point to come down every other night and toss buckets of sea water on them. He was especially intent on reminding Sabo that he couldn't step out of line or attempt to flee otherwise the damn collar and cuffs would go off and kill him. He was so pissed that they drugged him heavily enough to keep him out for over twelve hours as they put those devices on him. It was annoying and definitely demeaning but it was not impossible to escape. He just needed them to let him out of this fucking cage—

"M-Mister?"

Tamil. Sabo blinked, looking down at the child standing on the other side of the cage door.

"...Why aren't they letting you out?"

"Ah," Sabo grimaced, "it's because they are being wary of me."

"But why?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Maybe they can tell that I'll kick their a-butt's for imprisoning us."

Tamil's brow furrowed, quiet for a moment before glancing up at Sabo hopefully, "...you said us? Does that mean you'll get all of us out of here?"

"Of course!" Sabo angled his head down, trying his best to meet Tamil's eyes as he smiled gently, "I promise you, Tamil, I won't leave here without all of you… I'll make sure you'll be able to experience freedom again."

Tamil stood there, his eyes darting from Sabo to the other prisoners to two of their captors standing on the other side of the room. 

"I-I think… I can help you?" Tamil bit his lip, hard enough to break skin as he shuffled closer to Sabo's cage, "b-but you need to promise you'll help all of us. You have to mean it! O-Okay?"

"I promise."

Sabo knew his confusion was showing on his face, but for once he found he didn't have as good of a grip on his emotions as he usually did. Tamil kept twitching nervously, his hands coming up to his hair and pulling at it. Sabo assumed that Tamil had a large head, that he kept his hair up in such a hairstyle to hide how large his head must have been. Tamil's dark hair was held up in a ponytail, brushed up into a large cone shape with the ponytail portion short enough that the ends looked more like the tips found on a pineapple. All his assumptions were tossed out the window as Tamil split a part into his hair pulling out—

A Devil Fruit.


End file.
